The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 24, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 12, 2001
David L. Poole, Palatine, IL (US);
Barry R. Knott, Wheeling, IL (US);
David Laurence George Worgan, Crewe, GB;
Zih Corporation, Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A thermal printer that includes a thermally conductive sacrificial member disposed between the thermal print head and the web. The sacrificial member is held generally under tension and prevents the web from directly engaging the thermal print head. The sacrificial member may take one of many different forms, including a fixed strip or belt, a rotatable, continuous belt which slowly recirculates during printing to equalize wear across its surface, or a Moebius loop which further provides that wear is equalized across both sides of the belt. By providing a sacrificial member between the print head and web, wear and exposure of the print head is reduced, thereby prolonging the life of the print head.